The Emergence of the Polish-Lithuanian Union

ENDuring the Soviet period, the Polish-Lithuanian union was interpreted according to the Marxist view and Pan-Russian perception of the union as a project by the “feudal class”, which allegedly had not satisfied the “will of the people” and “Lithuanian national interests”. Modern studies on the origins of the Polish-Lithuanian union have determined the dynastic factor and its deciding influence on the political processes of that period. More recent historiographical studies have become increasingly less dependent on a formal analysis of the union documents. The most important aspect of the union's genesis is associated with the late medieval dynastic concept of the state. The historiography substantiates that, ever since her arrival in Poland from Buda, Hedwig was considered a domina naturalis. When compared with other late medieval dynastic unions, one unique aspect of the Polish-Lithuanian union was that it merged a Christian state with a pagan one, thus encouraging the Christianisation of the latter.